Temperatures have fallen dramatically, to a 16-year low of 4 °C (39° F). While such temperatures may seem relatively mild to those from colder climes, it’s a sharp fall from Taiwan’s average January temperature of 16° C.

Taiwan has a subtropical climate so most homes don’t have central heating.

“In our experience, it’s not the actual temperature, but the sudden drop that’s too sudden for people’s circulatory systems,’’ said a city official quoted by AP news agency.

Many of those who died were elderly people suffering from heart trouble and shortness of breath.

The New Taipei City Police Department found one man dead on the street on Sunday, but most of the big freeze’s victims were discovered indoors, according to the Taipei Times.

Temperatures in Taipei are forecast to rise again in the coming days, even to as high as 17°C (63° F) on Tuesday.

For some, it was their first time seeing snow in person, and many flocked to the mountains to view the spectacle in all its glory.

UNBELIEVABLE: Snowfall in Taiwan, from Yangmingshan in suburban Taipei to Pingtung county in the south, wowed residents across the island and led them to flock to the rare sightings by the tens of thousands on Sunday. At major scenic spots and mountain resorts across the island, excitement was palpable as people came to take in the scenery, snap pictures and engage in snowball fights. Many of them have never seen snow in their lives.Taipingshan, located in an area between New Taipei and Yilan, saw a snowfall of some 20cm, as did Lalashan in Taoyuan.In Taipei, the temperature fell to 4°C, the lowest level ever detected in the city in 44 years, and may drop further to 3°C early today.The death toll from the cold snap has gone up to 52, according to the Central News Agency. 36 people died in Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan, and a further 16 in Kaohsiung, mostly from hypothermia and the onset of cardiovascular diseases.READ MORE: http://shst.me/d1r

The cold spell in China has been blamed for the deaths of four strawberry farmers, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning when they turned up the heat in a greenhouse in Anhui province in the east, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

One woman fell to her death in the southwest of China when the railing of her 24th-floor balcony broke as she leaned over to look at the first snow in Chongqing in 20 years.

On Sunday, the southern city of Guangzhou experienced its first snow since 1967.

Temperatures in Hong Kong dropped to 3°C (37° F) Sunday – the lowest in almost 60 years. One hundred and thirty people were trapped by the inclement weather, and a snow day was called in schools across the city on Monday.

All primary schools in Hong Kong will be closed tomorrow because of "adverse weather." Sunny day, 51F/11C. Remarkable. Only in #HK.